[Asterisk-Users] Future installation questions - what do I need?

[Jay Milk]

Using four quad-T1 cards and channel banks, you could physically connect
4x4x24 = 384 channels to a single asterisk box -- much more than you'd
want on a single box anyway, but Asterisk can be clustered quite nicely
using IAX.  Somehow I was under the impression that you wanted to
replace a 4x24 phone system with * -- but it looks like you're shooting
for a hybrid system that's beyond my understanding.  With your
significant investment in your current infrastructure, it's conceivable
that you can connect a * box to your Toshiba via T1 and use the current
PBX as a glorified channel-bank, while * does the IVR and VM.  But the
proper thing for me is to bow out and let the experts answer your
questions.

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Little [mailto:mlittle at iqep.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 8:37 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Future installation questions - what do I
need?



I just want to clarify a few things.  I have about 100 Toshiba digital
phones, 4 ports on the voicemail, and 24 phone lines.  Not all of the
lines are POTS lines.  I think 8 of the lines are Direct Inbound Dial
(DID).  Due to a decrease in call volume, I am most likely going to
cancel 6 - 8 POTS lines in the near future.  Also, due to the cost
involved with implementing a completely new phone system the Toshiba
phone system will have to stay.  This will be phase out a little at a
time.  If the rumor is correct, what would you do if you need more than
four Digium cards?  Would you run multiple Asterisk boxes?  Currently, I
have Asterisk installed on a Slackware 10 system for testing purposes.
I am going to test it on the side.  Once I feel confident with Linux
(sorry, I don't have a lot of experience with it) and Asterisk, I will
put it in place of the Toshiba voicemail for "live" (after hours)
testing.  Luckily, our developer at work prefers running Linux, so I
have someone to run to for assistance.

 

Thanks for the info.  I will review the hardware needs and make a
purchase SOON.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com
[mailto:asterisk-users-admin at lists.digium.com] On Behalf Of Jay Milk
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 4:29 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Subject: RE: [Asterisk-Users] Future installation questions - what do I
need?

 

The "O" in FXO means Office, so that connects to your POTS lines.  The
"S" in FXS means Station, which connects to an extension.

 

In your case, I'd dump the Toshiba System entirely, because Asterisk can
do all the Toshiba can, and the Asterisk VM doesn't have any port
restrictions.

 

In order to connect to the four POTS lines, Digium offers a quad-FXO
card TDM04B, $337.  As an alternative, you could get four X100Ps for
$396, but there's a rumor that the PCI bus only supports four digium
cards at a time.  There are some reports of trouble with the TDM04B, so
you may want to do your homework before buying anything.  If you're
going to a PRI, the T100P will be the best solution.

 

As for extensions (let's assume you need 24),  you have various choices.


- T100P + channel-bank + 24 analog phones

- TDM40B offers four FXS (extension) ports for each card -- again,
4-card limitation will restrict you to 4 FXO/12 FXS

- Purchase 24 IP Phones (from $100-$500 each)

- Purchase 24 IAXies from Digium at $100/port and connect them to 24
analog phones

- Purchase a few SIP-adapters (like the Sipura SPA-2000) at $50/port and
connect analog phones

- any combination of the above

 

Before rolling this into production, you may want to install asterisk on
an "extra" system and see how you get along with it.  It's easier to
learn for some than for others.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Little [mailto:mlittle at iqep.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 1:58 PM
To: asterisk-users at lists.digium.com
Subject: [Asterisk-Users] Future installation questions - what do I
need?

I currently have a Toshiba Strata DK424 with a Stratagy voicemail system
(4 ports).  I am looking to go from having a receptionist answering the
phone to an automated attendant.  It appears that Asterisk can be the
solution, but I have some questions.  Do I just replace the Stratagy
with the Asterisk or do I need to reconfigure the routing of the phone
lines?  Currently, the POTS lines come in to the Strata phone system.
Would I need to have the POTS lines come in to the Asterisk then connect
the Strata to the Asterisk?  The Strata is equipped with an automated
attendant, but only having 4 ports causes dropped calls.  At the current
time, we just want to use the automated attendant and voicemail
features, but we intend to start using VoIP and SIP.  Finally, which
cards do I need to purchase?  I am not familiar with all the
terminology, so I am a little confused with FXS and FXO.  Once I figure
out where things need to go, I think it would make things a little
easier.  All our phone lines come in on POTS lines, but we may change to
PRI at some point.  I understand that this will change which cards I
need.  I have mainly been looking at the Digium cards do to pricing.
The Intel (Dialogic) cards seem to be a lot more expensive.  Are the
Intel's any better than the Digium?  Any assistance would be greatly
appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Michael

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